Drought in Greece

Flooded village emerges in reservoir

(Bild: AFP/Angelos Tzortsinis)

Only a few people were still living in the village of Kallio when it was systematically flooded at the end of the 1970s by the dammed waters of the River Mornos. Due to the ongoing drought in Greece, parts of the village have now reappeared.

Greece is drier this year than it has been for over 30 years. The drought is also threatening the capital Athens - the Mornos Reservoir, located around 250 kilometers to the west, which has supplied the metropolis of millions with water for 50 years, has shrunk by a good quarter over the past two years, according to the state weather authority in Athens.

Now the drought is providing impressive images of a village that once sank into the floods of the artificial lake. "I grew up there, there were still around 80 houses at the time," said a former resident in an interview with the broadcaster Open. It was not very tragic to leave the village - some neighbors went to Athens, others to nearby villages.

(Bild: AFP/Angelos Tzortzinis)

(Bild: AFP/Angelos Tzortsinis)

Ruins and foundation walls can be seen again
Now the ruins and foundation walls are reappearing - the school, the church. It is not the first time that the former inhabitants have marveled at the remains. During an extreme water shortage in 1993, people were able to wander between the ruins.

Even now, the otherwise almost deserted area attracts onlookers. But the issue is serious, says Kimon Chatzibiros, Professor of Ecology and Environmental Policy at the Technical University of Athens. If the coming winter is as rainy and, above all, as snowless as the last one, Athens will have to take water-saving measures next year, he warns journalists. These include, as a first step, a ban on washing cars with a garden hose, but also the obligation to repair leaking pipes.

Reservoir shrunk from 17 to 12 km²
Based on satellite data, meteorologists at the Greek Meteorological Office have calculated that the area of the Mornos reservoir has shrunk from a good 17 square kilometers to around 12 square kilometers over the past two years.

The sharpest decline has occurred in the past twelve months. It is one of many negative weather records in Greece this year - throughout the summer, people suffered from unusually high temperatures and in many places there was no rain at all for months.